High cost of land acquisition slows down new Huda projects in Gurgaon

The new land acquisition act has become a cause of concern for the Haryana urban development authority (Huda) that has to pay almost double the market price for acquiring land for important infrastructure projects.

The new land acquisition act has become a cause of concern for the Haryana urban development authority (Huda) that has to pay almost double the market price for acquiring land for important infrastructure projects.

Under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, of Haryana, the compensation for acquisition of land, whether rural or urban, should be twice the market value of the plot.(HT File Photo)

Facing a cash crunch, Huda now plans to first acquire land to complete master sector roads and to key expressways in new Gurgaon-- Southern Peripheral Road and Northern Peripheral Road or Dwarka Expressway.

Under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, of Haryana, the compensation for acquisition of land, whether rural or urban, should be twice the market value of the plot.

So under the new land acquisition Act, the government has been forced to pay double the market price for land.

In sectors 68 to 80, where the land is being acquired for building a connecting road between Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) and National Highway-8, the compensation being paid to farmers is almost Rs 10 crore per acre that includes enhanced compensation and interest. However, the market rate of land in this sector is Rs 5 crore. And given the slowdown in the real estate sector in Gurgaon, developers are not showing interest in buying land in the city even at market price.

“We are paying over Rs 10 crore an acre for land needed to construct a new road from SPR to National Highway 8. This is double the market rate. But this is what we are supposed to pay as per the new land acquisition act,” said Kulbir Singh Dhaka, land acquisition officer, HUDA.

While the steep rate has slowed down the pace of land acquisition and eventually development, there is a silver lining in the dark clouds. With the acquisition rates being double the market prices, farmers are more than willing to part with their land.

Dhaka said the high rate of compensation has considerably brought down the number of court cases.

“Land owners, who had obtained stay order from court against the acquisition, have approached us and agreed to give the land to Huda. Many have even got the stay orders vacated,” said Dhaka.

As a result, almost 60% of land owners have agreed to accept compensation for land acquired to build the new road to connect SPR with National Highway 8.